ByteDance’s VR arm PICO starts layoffs of a thousand employees and organizational restructure overhaul

By Greg Gao

(JW Insights) Nov 7 -- China’s tech behemoth ByteDance-owned VR business PICO is laying off more than a thousand employees this week, according to Tencent Technology News.

The HR department has begun communicating compensation details with affected employees. This round of layoffs is expected to impact a wide range of employees. Previous reports showed significant changes in PICO, with several key business leaders departing or being reassigned. 

On November 7 at 10 a.m., PICO held an all-hands meeting and officially announced an organizational restructuring plan. PICO's CEO, Zhou Hongwei, stated, "After careful consideration, we plan to make some adjustments to PICO's organization. The overall strategy is to focus more on long-term exploration and breakthroughs in hardware and core technology. While PICO continues its regular operations, we will have a stronger commitment to long-term value while reducing investments in other areas in the short term," reported Tencent Technology News.

PICO's mobile OS team will be integrated into ByteDance's product development and engineering architecture center. The new business development will have a stronger emphasis on hardware and core technology. In the short term, certain teams will see some downsizing, primarily affecting teams related to market sales services, studios, video, and platform businesses.

A report from 36Kr stated that ByteDance lowered its sales volume expectations for Pico from 1 million units to 500,000 units in 2023.

In response to media reports about ByteDance gradually giving up its PICO business, a representative from ByteDance stated on October 21, "This news is not accurate. PICO is operating as usual, and the company is committed to the long-term investment in XR business."